My Name is Will
by Irene Claire
Summary: Steve searches for Danny and presumes he's dead after a takedown goes wrong. This is a fast little angsty-filled story with yet (I know it's been done) another bout of amnesia for poor Danny. Promise it will be done in less than six chapters (at least as I post this first chapter).
1. Chapter 1

**I do not own Hawaii Five-0 or any characters. No copyright infringement intended. **

**Notes:** Bored, bored, bored (at work that is and anxiously awaiting a second interview after the holiday at a new opportunity). And I love me some amnesiac Danny and worried Steve.

**H5O* H5O* H5O* H5O* H5O***

**Chapter One**

It was blistering hot on the roof. Stripped to his waist, he had wrapped his shirt around his head to block some of the unrelenting sun and heat. Heavily bearded, he was very tan yet sweating profusely and it stung through the last of the deep stubborn scab that was traced deeply across his ribcage. The scar would arc down from his shoulder-blade, wrap under his arm and then would continue to the front of his lowest left rib. The gouge deepened and widened as it approached that rib causing a deep hot ache that refused to be alleviated by any means.

He palmed his forehead hard where another dull ache seemed to suddenly appear. A dark vision swam threateningly behind his eyes and he pushed it down firmly. "Who the hell are you?" He muttered to the remembered dark silhouette who was coming more and more often not only in his dreams, but even now when he was wide awake. His vision dimmed and he saw the man again and swore softly to himself. "Get out of my head."

Blaming it on the heat, he also pushed away the first tendrils of nausea and focused on the task at hand. Hammer in one hand and nails in the other, he drilled a few more loose roof planks into the flimsy frame before needing to take another short break.

With a disgusted sigh, he shaded his eyes to look out at the sparkling ocean through the brilliance of the sun. He was up high and had an unobstructed birds-eye view. He needed sunglasses or a hat, but he was either too lazy or too busy to bother getting off the roof when he had only what would amount to thirty more minutes of work. Plus he knew that if he managed the trip down the flimsy ladder, it was doubtful he'd make that return climb back up to the roof.

"Better to do it now." He mumbled tiredly now almost worried by his growing inability to catch his breath. The t-shirt on his head would have to do but he winced as his knee seized unexpectedly. Another scar, this one older, traced his knee cap. Expertly done, at one time he'd obviously gone to a surgeon for some other ailment now long healed but sometimes problematic if he knelt too long or if bad weather might be on its way.

This time both scenarios were true.

In the distance, dark ominous clouds were gathering on the far horizon. As Peka said, the storms would come by late tomorrow morning and they needed the last of the worrisome roof patched before the first drops of rain would arrive. But Will was very tired as he continually pushed himself to regain stamina that was slow to return. He knew that Peka's older cousin, Trudy, saw that in him too for she was as insightful as a hawk.

On the ground below him, Will sensed the heavy-set woman staring up at him. As usual, she appeared out of nowhere with her sharp, judgmental eye. Thumbing a sharp pain near the scar on his knee, Will refused to look at her as he refocused his hammer on an obstinate nail.

There was no television, radio or formal newspapers in their small fishing village along a remote portion of the Nihau coastline. With a family-like population that barely numbered twenty-five, they had no need except for the one or two privately held weather radios. If they wanted more, they could easily walk to town where only a slightly more civil environment waited. But that need was rare and they lived happily enough amongst themselves from hand to mouth.

Since Will could recall being in the village, there had been some very minor change in what could be a boring day-to-day ritual. Once or twice a week, a few villagers would be asked to host rich tourists seeking game fish off the rough reef waters. The money was good and tips were appreciated. The money was pooled for food, necessities and sometimes luxury items for the few children. Will wanted to help. But both Peka and Trudy declared him too weak to volunteer always ushering him away when an expensive boat docked and well-dressed tourists disembarked.

Not so deeply buried, Will was relieved to not participate. Weak or otherwise, he was honestly not naturally drawn to the ocean or the boats. Both made him tight with stress and a feeling of discomfort that he couldn't quite put his finger on. Fishing held little appeal from land or at sea, though he would have liked to possibly visit or speak to the occasional guests for any kind of news or diversion. He had mentioned it a week earlier when three mainlanders arrived with expensive poles in hand, but Peka would have nothing to do with it.

_"No, Will. Please, don't go down to the docks.' _ Her perceived fear for him was real because evidently such a fishing accident was where Will had been so grievously injured. In fact, Peka's husband had been killed in the same accident which Will had been in. He had drowned saving Will and he had left Peka and their small son to survive on their own by scraping by on a much too meager living. The boy was now five months old and Will enjoyed the stout dark-complexioned child as if he were his own. Lately though, Will had gotten an odd feeling even when around baby Aaron. There was a lingering familiarity about himself and another baby which was blonde where this one was so dark. But a baby was a baby and yet, he couldn't shake the strange feeling. Regardless, the tale of the accident also left him with a sense of guilt and responsibility towards the two, and Will did his best to contribute and care for the young widow and her fatherless son.

Try as he might, Will didn't remember it at all though. Nothing was familiar except for niggling premonitions he was becoming unable to shake. Based on the deep crease just under the hair on his temple, plus the problematic wound on his ribs, in a way he was happy not to remember at least what had to have been a terrible accident. He began to attribute the ocean's lackluster appeal as an after-effect of the accident; something his psyche and then Peka's fright compounded. So Will easily agreed to stay in the small, rundown two-bedroom shack of a home without venturing to the docks.

What he did remember came at night when he was sleeping. Or now, during the day if feeling over-tired or taking an exhausted nap where he might toss and turn, often waking drenched in sweat. The tall, dark-haired man would be nearby and soundlessly staring at him with concern. A scent of the ocean always came with the visitor and sometimes distant reports of gunfire. Will would waken as the man held his hand out to him as if pleading Will to take a firm hold. Half wanting to and partially frightened by the flicker of gold the stranger held in the other hand, Will would wake to a thudding heart searching the small space for the intruder.

"Will!' Lost in his thoughts about his persistent ghost, he looked down with a start as the older matronly woman tossed a water bottle in her hands. "Catch, crazy haole!"

"Thank you, Trudy." He laughed and waited for her to count to three before cleanly lobbing the bottle into the air. The toss was graceful, as was his easy catch. He didn't exactly fit either in this small hodge-podge of a fishing village. Every so often it bothered him though Peka had gently explained time and again how he had come to them after a tour in the Army. It didn't sound right and often felt wrong, but her dark eyes held his gaze with an intensity that made him believe her explanation. With nothing else to go on, he grudgingly trusted Peka's words.

According to Peka, he had been to Iraq and he had come to them over a year ago wanting a more simple life. She swore she was only repeating what he had told her so long ago. In their gracious nature, the small fishing community had adopted him and he had become good friends with Peka's own husband. He didn't remember that either and it was strange to him that he would seek refuge on an island when he felt no kinship to the sparkling deep ocean. Odd that an accident on the unfamiliar waters had taken his memory and not something from his stint in the Army.

What felt more right was the silhouette of the dark-haired man, occasional flitting sounds of gunfire, plus a different seeming ocean his presence conjured with it. He attributed these things to the supposed tour of duty in Iraq. He could not place the importance of water though in the mix and Peka knew much about him, but offered no solace there.

"Will, watch that scar. It's not healing well and getting much too red; hurry up and come down." Bending his white-blonde head, Will frowned at the puckering wound. He was told that it had happened on the boats while fishing. Mostly healed, it was sensitive to the bright sun, hot to the touch even in the dark of night, and constantly sore where the rest of his body was well tanned.

It itched and sometimes bothered him so much, that Trudy was always poking and investigating it. She feared it was infected and said as much nearly very hour of every day.

Will had spurts of energy and then periods where he felt simply miserable. Tired feverish and sometimes nauseous, he couldn't seem to regain all of his health. Like now, as a wave of dizziness washed over him and a cold sheen of sweat broke out across his forehead. Trudy saw him waver or saw the expression alter on his face almost immediately.

"Will, are you okay? Maybe you should stop and come down now."

"I'm fine .. I'm almost done." He waved her off after downing nearly half the bottle in one long swallow. Below him, Peka had snuck out to talk to her cousin. Very softly, Trudy whispered the truth and Peka felt only a momentary stab of anger and jealousy. But those feelings were quickly fading though along with the guilt.

"You can't keep him forever, cuz. You got your money." The baby on her hip gurgled and then howled. The boy wasn't Will's child but he needed a father and Will was loving and doting. She ignored the distant look on his face which he was adopting more and more often when he played with the baby. She didn't understand why her child might be the final trigger, but she feared that little Aaron might one day bring Will back his full memory.

But now .. well, Peka loved him and he was hers for the moment. At least that is what she told herself over and over despite the lies she had at first been coached to say. Now, she made the remainder up herself which caused her cousin to be both angry and frightened. "Peka, this is dangerous and very wrong."

"For now, Will is here … and no one knows. I need him and he's mine. Keep your mouth shut, Trudy."

"The people that paid you are gone. They got what they wanted, we did what they asked, and we should all count our blessings. He will find out or remember, and then what? Do you want to risk him hating you for the rest of your life?" In reality, Will had been there for only four months and not the nearly eighteen month block of time he'd been led to believe. Iraq was a lie and his tour of duty had been totally contrived by the desperate woman who continually convinced herself that she loved the blonde mainlander.

As agreed, Will had been brought to her in the dead of night by boat. Unconscious and bleeding from his wounds, Peka had enlisted Trudy to help nurse him back to a negligible health. Feverish and in pain, he didn't know his name or what had happened once he'd roused more and Peka had taken advantage of that loss immediately. Having just lost her husband to a bad fishing accident, she was distraught, desperate and her young son was only one month old. As with the two strangers who brought not only him but a great deal of money to buy her silence, having Will became another type of opportunity and she grabbed him with both hands.

Dedicated to the distraction of caring for the stranger and needing the money, Peka coached the name '_'William'_' out of him and he'd seemed content that was his nearly right. She still remembered the oddly whispered conversation for he had been much more ill than even now.

_"William. Maybe."_ Will had muttered as his eyes sought hers out as if for approval.

_"I should call you Will, then?"_ She had encouraged, happy when he nodded to agree.

_"Yeah. Will. My name is Will."_

Very debilitated from his injuries, Peka had begun to protect him for herself after that. When the two men had returned with guns either to kill or to reclaim him, she lied daringly to them. Fearful to protect what she was building with Will, she begged Trudy to help and they had hidden him in a cave swearing that the haole had died from his injuries.

She showed the two dangerous men her own husband's sad grave marker and lied more. She begged forgiveness for not being able to save the haole's life, but without medical supplies, she couldn't do the impossible. Oddly, they were pleased, paid her the remainder of the promised deposit regardless of the blonde haole's death, and left the tiny fishing village. That had been months ago. Then she lied to Will as he grew more strong; and each time those lies became easier.

The community was small and everyone liked him. He was no trouble and had brought Peka money and some stability. Her money had been shared amongst them and they were happy with new boats and sturdy nets. Soon, they had forgotten their original mistrust and anger, and they forgot about the dangerous men. With Trudy and Peka's help, Will had slowly accustomed himself to life there and to each and every lie he'd been spoonfed. But it could last just so long.

"He believes he was in the war. He believes the fishing accident and your roof is getting patched. What more do you want." Peka shielded her own eyes from the glare as she looked up at the handsome mainlander. He was thin, almost too gaunt and had lost muscle over the last four months but she would change that as he healed and gained strength from fever and weakness treated with only the barest of medical supplies. He seemed resolute in that himself as she watched him finish the water bottle.

He was slow to regain health though and that worried both herself and Trudy. He had bouts of fever and weakness; often laying down and sleeping hours only to waken as tired as he was before. She could tell he was dragging now as he paused too often and shakily wiped sweat from his face.

"He's still not well." Peka complained. "No matter what we do, he does not get better. But he needs to stay here where it's safe. What better place is there since he is so very happy?" She was torn and vacillated between wanting him to desperately stay with her, and yet a fear that he would become so ill that she would lose him a different way.

"He's happy here." Peka repeated while kissing her son's tousled hair when Trudy snorted in derision.

"Those are your lies, cousin. He believes almost everything you say and one day, you will not be able to live with yourself because of his blind trust. But I am not so sure of that contentment." Peka knew that she was deluding herself and that her cousin was right. Will often seemed more distant of late. He was less engaged and spent hours off by himself in deep thought.

It would only take one trigger, one smell or memory. One rich visitor that would question the obviously out-of-place haole and it would all surface and be over. But until that happened, Peka could be content.

"It's time for the truth, Peka." Trudy had begun to push the fact hard since Will's health was not improving and Peka felt her anger rising. "And he's much too sick now."

She rocked her son and tried to imagine life without Will. She grinned as he wiped sweat from his face and waggled his fingers at the baby. Her son had been one month old when Will was delivered to them. Now he was a sturdy five months and he fisted his chubby hand and gurgled happily back at the blonde man who was so different from everyone else.

"We don't even know the truth ourselves." Peka retorted quietly. "Suppose someone still wants to hurt or even kill him? He's a good man and safer with us here. Bad things could happen if the wrong people find out that he is really alive."

"That could be true. But you know that he was abducted and those men that paid you were bad news. Just suppose he has a family who still searches night and day for him. How is that right or fair to him ... or to them?"

The two bickered quietly back and forth until Will painfully straightened and shakily made his way down the hand hewn ladder. "Lie down." Trudy demanded when she saw his exhausted face and severe tremble to his hands. He was weak and he constantly pushed himself as if he was looking for more. As if he had lost something dear.

"Will, you do too much." Placing her hands on his shoulders, she _tsked_ about the heat they held as she turned and propelled him inside to the shady interior. "Lie down, Will. I'm going to put aloe and medicine on that scar and you are going to rest."

Tugging on his beard, he suddenly wanted it off and he smiled as Trudy grinned back in understanding. His blue eyes crinkled and sparkled which brightened his whole expression despite the fatigue. Peka was very right about the handsome haole and Trudy feared for his safety in case bad men still wanted him dead. Uncertain about what to do when it came to the difficult questions, she pushed her earlier thoughts to the back of her mind. She could at least do more for him now as he stood swaying unsteadily in front of her.

He was over-heated, tired and had once gain done too much in his condition. She nodded before he could finish his request. "Can we get this off too?"

Shaving supplies were scarce and they'd been originally instructed to keep their guest hidden. Now, feeling it safe at least on their tiny section of the island, Trudy agreed. No one came or looked for him and he was mostly at ease though he stared often at the ocean as if confused by its very existence. She knew it wasn't familiar to him and while he could swim well, he was not at home in a boat and showed no desire to fish. He was better on land fixing things with his bare hands such as a damaged roof or broken fence.

It was much too hot for such a beard as his and oddly, Will never asked for much and Trudy was pleased to offer him such a basic favor. "Yes, Will. I'll do it for you ... A real treat for fixing our roof so well and then, I want you to lay down and sleep."

Trudy's voice faded for a moment as Will's vision waffled and tunneled. He felt her pudgy fingers gripping his shoulders even more tightly and his throat was thick as he tried to speak. Will coughed and winced as he blinked rapidly to clear his vision while the older woman lay the back of her hand to his cheeks and forehead. "No. It's okay. I'm just hot from the sun, Trudy."

She didn't believe him and he missed the worried look shared between the two women.

Hours later, the somewhat clean-shaven Will was sleeping soundly on the small cot in Trudy and Peka's humble home. Trudy had acted without his permission to battle the rising discomfort of both his head and fevered body and so, had sneaked an herbal sedative and pain medication into his tea. She had done that after insisting he eat a meal of white rice and chicken.

He was definitely becoming more ill and what he needed was outside her realm of expertise. Changing her mind again, Trudy knew they had no choice but to help him. "His wound is not healing and it's become infected. He needs a hospital and real antibiotics."

Trudy had tried to clean the wound, but the reddened area was swollen, painful and oozing now. "Peka, we have to take him to a hospital or he will die.

Peka watched Will sleep before gently laying a light blanket over his chest. She liked the way he looked without the overwhelming scruff of beard. Still tanned, he looked even younger and she could more easily see where he - no _they_ - had hit his head so badly. She cared and was sure now that he'd been abducted much against his will. The play on words made her smile gently. It frustrated her, but Trudy was right that his family would want to know he was safe and they were at a loss to truly help him.

The winds were increasing and the real storm would arrive by the later hours of the next morning which provided them with a limited window of time. She knew two skilled fishermen that would willingly take them to the hospital on one of their newest and most reliable boats. It felt wrong that Will should be taken on a boat purchased with his own blood money, but they had no choice.

She frowned as her hand skittered across his chest again. He was much warmer than he should be and on her knees now, Peka felt his cheeks and forehead with both hands.

"Trudy. He's very sick and you need to do something for him. Anything." She pleaded with her cousin one last time even though she knew what the answer would be. Whether it be from exertion or the scabby problematic wound, Will was once more feverish and his agitation grew in his sleep. This time, Peka was frightened. Trudy knelt across from her and nodded in agreement to offer her cousin strength.

"I can't do anything for him. We must take him to where he can get real medical help."

Hoping that he might, Peka offered one last vain attempt at keeping him and Trudy frowned. "What if he refuses to go?"

Disappointing her cousin, Trudy was definitive as she lay a cold cloth across Will's forehead. "We won't let him."

_**~ to be continued ~**_


	2. Chapter 2

**I do not own Hawaii Five-0 or any characters. No copyright infringement intended.**

**Notes: **thank you for such nice first comments! and thanks to CinderH who yet again puts up with the muse at the last minute!

**H5O* H5O* H5O* H5O* H5O***

**Chapter Two**

Four months had gone by since Danny had disappeared and now their very last hope lay dead at Steve's feet. He stared in disbelief at the body of the one final man who might have known what had happened to his best friend. His finger burned on the trigger and it took all of his strength to stand down as the SWAT team's best sharp-shooter bravely approached with a stunned, dire look on his face.

"I'm sorry, sir. He moved at the last second." It wasn't the man's fault for he'd been doing his job; and very well at that. With Steve and two other officers desperately pinned down, he had been ordered to take the shot but the perp had moved and an ill wind had suddenly rippled in from the ocean. A subtle enough shift of two critical elements which had destroyed his opportunity to merely disable, making it a kill shot.

Blood seeped down Steve's right arm where a bullet had torn through his bicep to sit firmly embedded in the bone. Though his arm hung limply at his side, he didn't feel the pain as he stared dumbly at the dead man.

"Sir?" The sharp-shooter tried again. He had noticed the deep wound and he moved forward with a hand out as if to help. "Commander, you're bleeding. You've been hit."

Unable to speak and ignoring the man's concern, Steve turned on his heel and stalked away. He was trembling badly by the time he reached Chin and his truck. The adrenalin dump and long weeks of working on the case tracking down the most obscure of leads had entirely caught up with him in a very bad way. It was so obvious, it wasn't only Chin who could see that he was barely on his feet.

"Commander. It looks ... bad." The SWAT sharp-shooter followed closely, even risking what would be a vile altercation, as Steve swayed dangerously. Literally saving the worried man, Chin waved him away as he intercepted his obviously distraught friend.

"Steve. Sit down." He cursed quietly to himself though when he noticed the bloody sleeve and red tracks tracing down towards Steve's wrist. "Steve. When did you get hit?" But his friend was distressed as he walked in a haphazard circle. Ignoring Chin's attempts at calming him, Steve roughly pulled away instead.

"What do I tell Grace now, Chin? Now what?" Eyes dark with real tears, Steve choked and dove to the bushes that lined the sandy tertiary road. He was sick to his stomach and wobbling when Chin finally got him to sit wilted in the passenger seat of his large Silverado. Ripping at the medical pack to find bandages, Chin's face was set in a stubborn, pale line as Steve continued a one-sided diatribe against himself.

"He's gone. That's it. Danny is simply gone and I failed both of them." Chin had nothing to say. There was nothing he could say because the truth was staring lifelessly up into the blue skies. He looked up as Kono wandered over to join them with a face as stricken as Steve's. It was over for all of them now and they needed to figure out how to move on. None of them though, would ever be willing or ready. Least of all Steve who bore a mantle of dread as he vainly tried to find future words for Grace. Even if he had to search for it through his darkest days, there had always been that one tiny shred of hope that he might be able to share with Danny's daughter. Now though, Steve truly had nothing left.

"Kono, get the medics over here." Finding that the bullet was still in Steve's arm, Chin packed the hole and then wrapped it tightly to at least stem the steady trickle of blood. Without a word, Kono turned and re-entered the hectic area where police swarmed against the last dregs of Colton's gang. More than half had been killed in the fray while others, including two or three officers, had been injured in one way or another.

"They're going to need to operate to get that out." He tried to warn Steve, but he clearly wasn't listening. "I packed it to stop the bleeding. But you're going to need to go in and have the bullet removed."

Chin was talking for nothing as he watched Steve's eyes flicker around and through the controlled mayhem. Searching senselessly for the partner that would never come forward; at least not here as they had been promised by Colton just the prior night. "Steve? You need to listen to me."

"This can't be it, Chin." The whisper was low and it reeked of a refusal to believe they had lost. "I won't let it be."

"Steve." Chin sighed before simply closing his mouth. Four long months had gone by and Colton's empire had finally been brought down and dismantled. But in doing so, they had unequivocally lost Danny, too.

Colton had toyed with them for months. Longer even than the time since Danny had been abducted from his apartment. Gavin Colton swore that he'd win and even now dead, he certainly had. He'd manipulated and managed to thwart law enforcement agencies for weeks and months as he made millions through his international weapons dealings. The abduction of a Senator's daughter and then one Detective Danny Williams had been an unforeseen coups de grace.

After so much time, there was supposed to have been an exchange that morning: two live bodies to buy a pass to freedom. But it had been a complicated contrary mission from the start fraught with persistent logistical problems. Still, they had no choice but to believe the man at every tricky turn in the hopes of getting the two returned alive. Now they had the weapons stash, the man dead, and his empire had been brought to its knees. But even in death, Gavin Colton had brought Five-0 to theirs as well.

"What's wrong?" Chin asked as Kono returned without the medics. She stripped her gloves off and bit back even more tears.

"They're on their way over. The medics." She was listening though to the continued hum through her ear bud and something else was clearly wrong. Kono tented her fingers in front of her face to rub the bridge of her nose before dropping her hands to hug herself.

"They just found the Senator's daughter in one of the transport crates. She's been dead a long time. Strangled .. looks like it anyway. Max .. Max will tell us when he gets on site." Her words ended on a sob.

"Danny could be here." Roughly forcing himself past Chin, Steve stumbled to his feet towards the long warehouse and rambling dock works. The wind had increased in intensity and clouds were blowing in from far away on the horizon. A rain storm would be arriving in the next few hours, but none of them noticed. "We need to check them all. All the crates."

"No! Steve!" Alarmed, Chin ran after him and grabbed his good arm to spin him around. If Danny were there, none of the team should be involved. Already devastated, it would destroy Steve to find his best friend potentially strangled and pushed into a small storage crate. Forcing him to stop, Chin lowered his voice as Steve stared at him in a fury.

"No, we're leaving and you're going to the hospital. Let the others deal with ..."

Before he could finish, Steve turned on him, then. Irate and inconsolable, he was shouting in Chin's face and couldn't stop. "What were you going to say? Let them_ deal with it_? Is that what you were going to say? There are no more deals, Chin! It's over and we lost; I need to bring him home one way or another."

"Steve." Chin didn't know what to do or say. Next to him, Kono had caught up to them both and was openly crying now. "No, it's not what I meant and I'm sorry."

There was no way to protect each other. None whatsoever. Steve was pale and his face was lined with as much grief as his remaining teammates as he shook himself free.

"What do I do? Tell me exactly what I'm supposed to do? But there is no way for me to stand back and let someone else deal with any of this with a clear conscience ... I can't let someone else do this for me. For us." He didn't need to mention Grace's name but he meant her, too. She was included in the '_us_' because Steve had once made a promise and he'd been keeping it every day since Danny's abduction.

With nothing to say, Chin dropped his hand and let him go. He glanced once towards his cousin and silently gave his permission for her to stay back. Using one hand, Kono wiped the tears from her face and shook her head no as she struggled to put her gloves back on. Instead, she followed him as they each flanked Steve down towards the docks.

_**~ to be continued ~**_


	3. Chapter 3

**I do not own Hawaii Five-0 or any characters. No copyright infringement intended.**

**Notes: **this was originally close to 5,000 words. The muses battled over keeping it one long chapter or breaking it out. It was split into two ... ummm, so this story is now probably going to be 7 chapters long unless the new 4th is merged with the old 4th chapter - that decision is pending. The good news is that the muses are NOT allowed to change written content. LOL! So what's done is done ... it is the presentation that is up for argument.

To celebrate a wonderful long weekend and Thanksgiving ... here is the next chapter for my wonderful cyber-friends!

**H5O* H5O* H5O* H5O* H5O***

**Chapter Three**

Hopes very possibly unrealistically high, Steve flew to Kauai Medical Center from Oahu. His arm was strapped to his body by a sling and he was technically leaving against medical advice from his own hospital bed, en route now to yet another hospital. He had called only Chin who angrily retorted that his use of the word '_technical_' when it came to his AMA was quite faulty.

_"There's nothing technical about it, Steve. You're supposed to be in bed."_ Chin griped and complained because the doctors were quite vocal about his ill-advised departure. The operation to remove the bullet was uncomplicated. Steve's immediate medical agenda was rest, prescribed antibiotics and pain medication as needed. However, Chin was still worried about Steve's mental state and physical capabilities after the stress of being shot and then the subsequent surgery that required anesthesia.

_"I'm telling you to wait for me to come with you, too. You shouldn't go alone."_

To that, Steve completely disagreed. If it were another wild goose chase, there was no reason for them all to go and Colton's men were still being processed. They had personally been involved in searching each and every weapons crate on the docks. The team was relieved and yet frighteningly sorrowed that Danny hadn't been there - like the Senator's deceased and badly decomposed daughter.

In fact, the mission had hardly ended as of yet, and it was still all-able-hands-on deck. Steve therefore wanted his two people visible while he finally went in an ambulance to the hospital. He'd been operated on and was resentfully resting in bed when a new call came in to his cell phone. A short forty-five minute puddle jump to Kauai held no stress and he could be back in a bed by late evening if the lead were indeed false.

"I have to do this, Chin. You and Kono need to be precisely where you are. I want no mistakes made." Having already purchased his ticket and standing on the tarmac, Steve had timed the call well. "I'm getting ready to board, Chin. You know these flights are hit or miss and the storm is just lifting, so we're cleared to take off now. I'll call you when I know something either way."

He virtually hung up on the older man who was ridiculously angry in the Five-0 offices. Steve would apologize later and maybe that apology would be softened should the call from the doctor at the Medical Center on Kauai be accurate.

That call he was now following up on would be one more lead in a mountain of others made by pranksters or well-meaning civilians who had sworn they'd seen the missing Five-0 detective. Receiving this particular call himself, Steve was suspicious at first as he listened to the man on the other side before making his flight plans. Now, he was nearly vibrating in anticipation as the short flight drew him closer to Kauai and this mysterious ill haole.

The man who contacted him directly got his attention first by identifying himself as a doctor at Kauai Medical and then secondly, by sharing the fact that U.S. Coast Guard was involved. Neither was an abstract civilian obsessing over perceived NCIS-like or an endless array of other similarly-minded cop shows where they too, might solve a real crime. Steve had also inquired at his own hospital if Doctor Richard Paulson was a real medical professional .. the answer was a resounding yes. He had credence and confirmation of the doctor's actual identity that renewed hope and provided another chance ... and Steve only wanted one good chance to find his friend.

He had asked for photo identification, an email or text message with images, and the doctor had snorted in derision. The Coasties and he had tried, but the haole was with a problematic trio.

According to the doctor, their small boat had been intercepted in very rough waters from the fast-moving storm. Beginning to take on water between Nihau and Kauai as the fickle winds and waves battered them, the boat's occupants had wisely issued an S.O.S. before true troubles could break out. And the Coasties had duly responded.

Two men and one woman were on board and piloting a fourth, very ill passenger into Kauai for medical assistance. What made Steve stumble out of his hospital bed while on the phone were the people's descriptions. The two men and one woman were native Hawaiians; indigent fishermen from neighboring Nihau and a tiny remote fishing community by common trade. The third and very ill man didn't fit. Described as a thirty-something blonde Caucasian man with injuries of unknown origin, one Coastie in particular was immediately suspicious when the one woman in the group vehemently refused to provide identification or allow their pictures to be taken.

_"This woman .. Peka .. will not let us take any photographs. She's overly possessive and yet, wants us to help him. The patient is Caucasian, he has a scar on his knee from a prior surgery. Looks like an old ACL tear that was repaired." _

The doctor described the severely underweight patient in as much detail as possible and Steve's heart soared._ "It's hard to tell, Commander, and I certainly don't want to get your hopes up. But I'm not getting much from these people and you need to get out here."_

So Steve went.

**H5O* H5O* H5O* H5O* H5O***

Steve got to the medical center in just a bit longer than an hour's time. Post storm turbulence had been bad and the pilot had wisely taken his time. The delay tore at Steve's nerves and increased his excited anxiety which he failed to rationalize. On top of it, the experience in the small plane had rattled Steve's recent operation and aggravated a weary headache brought on by after-effects of sedation and other stresses.

Struggling out of the taxi, he was holding his slung right arm to his side as he hurriedly forced himself to jog through the door. From the small reception desk, he was immediately led to Doctor Richard Paulson, the man who had contacted him by phone. He frowned now at the Commander's general condition for he looked exhausted, very disheveled, and the shirt he was wearing was stained with dried blood.

"You look terrible." Paulson was either going to lay the commander on a gurney himself, or at least get him into a wheelchair. Almost angrily, the man backed up to stay just out of reach.

"I'm fine." The lame excuse that was offered didn't sit well with the doctor because he was quickly putting things together. Steve was stand-offish as the doctor looked at him with utter disapproval. "My team is in the process of wrapping up a mission. I came right away."

"You didn't explain that you'd been injured. You couldn't have sent someone else?" Paulson sounded personally wounded as he persisted to gently finger the torn sleeve and tender, swollen area around the bandage eliciting a hiss of pain from the SEAL. "This is new. You're AMA from Oahu."

Impatiently, Steve confirmed the fact before gesturing down the hallway. "Yeah, but I'm fine. I'd like to see this patient of yours and hear how he was found."

Paulson was annoyed but conceded as he began walking towards the small intensive care unit. "The Coasties intercepted the boat more than midway in. They were in trouble with the high seas and had begun to take on water. The Coasties immediately suspected something was off when they met the group. The boat was new, the group rather rough around the edges, and well ... this third man simply doesn't fit. You need to see this, sir."

The young doctor knew something was wrong too. It hadn't taken much for this Peka to become defensive. She refused to provide any form of identification and declined that any pictures could be taken of her or the injured man whom she claimed was her husband. She vacillated between acting strong and then petrified as if she might flee the hospital grounds. The Coasties were watching her and the two other men who had been on the boat. They had essentially done nothing wrong, but their blonde acquaintance was decidedly out-of-place and quite unable to speak for himself.

"One of the Coast Guard feels that our new patient strongly resembles your missing detective. Please tell me if you know this man."

He escorted the anxious commander through the doors and then watched as the tall dark-haired man literally came undone at the seams. Standing at the side of the bed in the intensive care unit, at first he stood frozen in place with relief and shock evident across his face. Paulson saw a subtle, new tremble course through the broad shoulders and the man paled even more.

"Commander? Are you alright? Do you need a chair?" Paulson was worried when he received no reply. He watched as one hand reached out to lay gently on the very tanned and fevered forehead. Instead, he got confirmation to what he had already guessed based on the man's obvious reaction.

"Yeah, it's him. It's Danny." Steve was rocked into silence after that as he listened almost blandly to a recitation of ills. But he couldn't let go. Steve kept his hand firmly on the forehead as heat leaked steadily into his fingers. Feeling suddenly restricted, he shook his injured right arm out of the sling to remove the awkward fabric and velcro from his body. It fell to the tile floor as he leaned over the bed and measured his partner's condition.

"He's much too thin. He looks like he's been through hell." The tan belied the truth. Danny had lost weight he couldn't afford to lose and his eyes were sunken. He needed a shave to improve a sloppy job done by some poor excuse for a razor. His hair was streaked with white from over-exposure to the sun and not only very long, but lank and almost greasy. His fever was inordinately high and the doctor claimed that he had developed a Staphylococcus infection and now sepsis was suspected due to his severely weakened immune system. But Danny was alive and Steve would take him home.

"Has he said anything? Anything at all?" Steve thumbed Danny's brow as it creased uncomfortably under his hand. His fingers trailed into the hair by his temple where he realized that he could feel a hard jagged crease or lump.

"Doc? Head injury?" The young doctor nodded in agreement.

"To answer your first question - no, he's not woken and I don't expect him to. He's quite weak, dehydrated and malnourished, his blood pressure is too low, and his temperature is extremely high. We've pulled blood to run a full tox screen and blood panel, plus he's gone through a complete physical exam. I'm waiting for results on virtually everything right now. He's showing evidence of prior head trauma as well as what had been a rather serious wound from his back tracing under his left arm to the front of his left rib. And that wound is the culprit for the infection. I'm assuming that's the young woman he was with has attempted to care for him. Without proper medical supplies, she did well enough but he needed more expert care and he's quite ill."

"Danno." Steve whispered softly as he bent closer to his friend's face which read like a fable of unnamed pain and confusion though he was unconscious. "Danno, where have you been buddy?"

"With me." A woman's sharp voice brought Steve back to the present and he instantly felt a strong distaste for her. Paulson moved aside to provide Peka just enough room to enter with two Coast Guardsmen in tow. "His name is Will ... and he's my husband."

Resolutely placing his right hand on Danny's chest, Steve looked up and directly into the frightened but determined face of a young native Hawaiian woman. She's was trembling in fear but determined while trying to stare him down.

"Will? Husband?" Puzzled by her behavior, Steve frowned as Peka dared to pick up Danny's left hand between her two smaller ones. He was so darkened by the sun, their hands almost co-mingled together as one.

Repeating herself, Peka's voice strengthened with resolve. "Yes, his name is Will and he is my husband. We are only here because he's so sick and we couldn't do more for him at home. But as soon as he's better, he's coming back home with me."

"I don't think so." Steve knew what he sounded like and he didn't care. Lurking over the bed, Steve took over the veritable space. His voice was low and almost, but not quite, dangerous. After all, this woman might have saved his friend's life. But leave with this stranger, to live some odd life .. god knows where? No, that wouldn't happen. The same went for this supposed marriage and Steve shook his head in warning.

"I appreciate what you've done for him." Trying to be nice. Attempting to be kind, Steve anchored his hand to Danny's chest and laid claim. The other remained on the sickly heated forehead which had begun to crinkle and toss in stress once more.

"But no, Danny is not your husband and he most definitely is not going anywhere with you or anyone else for that matter."

"What gives you this right?" Peka pushed regardless of Trudy's warning echoing in her mind that she needed to accept the risk of possibly losing Will. It was too soon and she wasn't prepared for this personal attack. They had barely arrived at the hospital and already threats were being made.

Becoming more angry, Peka stumbled over her words while holding Will's hand. "He ...I ...love him. We've been together for months now and we share a home. My son loves him as if he were his real father. Once he's better, Will is coming home with me!"

"The hell he is!" Steve more than bristled as the Hawaiian woman tried to fight him. Under his hand, he felt Danny stiffen briefly and then stirred uncomfortably as the tension rose around him. Paulson stepped forward to offer support and Steve forced himself to drop his voice to a more normal level.

"I don't know what you're playing at but it's over." Rather than getting further into it with this woman, any niceties ended as Steve rudely and brusquely filled in a few gaps of his own. Pulling Danny's Five-0 badge from his pocket, he brandished it under her nose and then encouraged her to take it from him.

"His name is Detective Danny Williams. Not only does he work for me on the Governor's task force, but he's my best friend. He was abducted four months ago from his home. His real home."

He may owe this woman Danny's life, but he didn't know the whole story as of yet. There was more; so much more and he could almost smell the dirty parts that weren't entirely above board. She wasn't telling him everything and had shared literally nothing of real value thus far starting with the U.S. Coast Guard and ending now with himself.

"How and when did you find him? Why do you call him Will?" Handing Danny's badge back, Peka was angry and glared at the tall officer. She wanted to hurt him as much as he was now hurting her. She knew that Will would agree if he would just wake up from the terrible fever.

"He was brought to me .. to care for after he had been injured. It was a fishing accident." Steve narrowed his eyes at the lack of detail while the woman glowered back defiantly. He would find out who had brought Danny to this woman and he knew it would be any one of Colton's men. Why they had chosen her would be another interesting side-note. "He told me himself that Will was his name."

Next to her Paulson shifted on his feet while he folded his arms across his chest. He looked at her queerly and then voiced what was obvious at least to himself. "The old head injury plus the other wounds he has are not from any fishing accident that I've ever seen. And trust me, I've seen a lot of them."

Nearly snarling at the doctor for his most unwelcome intervention, Peka's voice rose higher as she gripped Will's hand tightly in her own. She was now standing very close to the officer who was not backing down from the bedside. "It's his name! He told me so, himself."

"Will for Williams." Unable to hide his rising annoyance, Steve continued to challenge her though he was very confused and spared the doctor a strange look. "When exactly was that? Four months ago when he was abducted by Gavin Colton, beaten, taken from his family and presumed ... dead?"

"He doesn't know you." Peka spat out with a new venom. "He hasn't asked to leave or find this other family you talk of! He lives with me and our son! We're very happy together."

She watched as the man's face paled considerably. He looked from her down to Will and tenderly rubbed the fevered forehead again, tracing the old head injury. It was a strange and familiar move; in fact, it was something that she herself would not dare to do.

"I'm sure you're mistaken." He seemed to realize that Will had changed and that something more was very wrong as he muttered '_Williams_' under his breath again.

"I'm not wrong." Angry still, her voice was hateful as she anchored herself in place and ignored the officer's mercurial emotional state. "He asked for no one and mentioned having no other family. Not once. He doesn't know you, want you, or care about this other life! Will wants to stay with us ... with me and Aaron."

Steve clenched his jaw at her words as he tried to dig past the fallacies and gain an understanding of what had happened and where Danny had been for so long. What came to mind was startling and almost made some sense as he faced the clearly upset Hawaiian woman again.

"He has amnesia. Is that what you're saying? Because Danny would never willingly leave his daughter. He wouldn't hurt Grace like this."

Peka blanched at word of a daughter and then realized she had crossed a line with this man when he made an abstract motion to the Coasties standing next to her. She was being summarily dismissed and definitely not released or free to go. Her calculated risk to get medical help for Will but to also stay with him had failed. Trudy had warned her to accept the possibilities since Will needed real help. Trudy had stayed behind with Aaron because Peka wanted to go with Will but this was happening much too fast.

Resentfully, Peka's hand dropped from Will's dry, hot limp one. She quietly studied his fingers, memorizing the quiet strength despite ingrained dirt from working so recently on their dingy roof.

She had lost. Along with that realization, Peka could be in real trouble for the money, the lies, and her ongoing role in keeping Will for so long. Her blonde haole was a cop and not just any cop, but part of the Governor's task force. He had strong determined friends, a family and many people who definitely wanted him back.

Peka took a step away from the bed with a distrustful look aimed at the tall dark-haired man. He was measuring her and studying every aspect of her demeanor as if tearing her down piece by terrible piece.

"You're going to stay here and talk to the authorities. Then my people. You first ... afterwards, these two other men who traveled with you."

Behind her, Peka felt the unpleasant presence of the Coast Guardsmen assigned to her every step. More of the real truth was soon to come out, never to be retracted, and Peka could only scowl angrily in return.

_**~ to be continued ~**_


	4. Chapter 4

**I do not own Hawaii Five-0 or any characters. No copyright infringement intended.**

**H5O* H5O* H5O* H5O* H5O***

**Chapter Four **

Will woke to a dimly lit and very quiet hospital room. His vision was hazy at best as he curiously thumbed the two intravenous lines and rubbed at the itchy nasal cannula. He had tried to argue with Trudy about needing to leave the small encampment and had lost even with Peka attempting to back him up. The cousins had argued briefly in front of him and in the end, Peka had finally agreed with Trudy..

The older woman was afraid for him as his fever rose and he continued to weaken. His objections had been justly over-ruled and she'd made him drink more herbal medicinals which had left him lethargic and malleable. Loaded into the fishing boat, he had slept for the large majority of the rough trip, barely waking to a semi-conscious state when boarded by the Coast Guard.

Now, he evidently was quite sick based on the medicines being pumped into his system and the need for oxygen. His rib ached where the unhealed wound was and he knew something had been done there, as well. He could feel a heavy, thick bandage and something else which he couldn't quite recognize. Of lesser consequence, a pulse oximeter was anchored to his index finger and a blood pressure cuff was affixed to his arm. Will didn't doubt that readings were being taken on a set basis for some strange, prying doctor's eyes.

It was late at night and only a few lights were on in the room to encourage rest but there was a faint movement towards the foot of the bed. With a start, Will suddenly realized that he was not alone and almost relaxed until he saw that the person with him was not Peka. The silhouette of a strange, tall man was standing near where he lay. It was identical to the size and shape of the man he saw in his dreams and at first, Will thought he was still dreaming or even imagining it from whatever drugs he'd been given.

But then the shape moved, shifted and came closer. The man was quite real and Will blinked furiously to try and see better; then gave out with a short astonished gasp.

"It's you." Will whispered. The man heard him and stopped in his tracks, evidently stunned by these first words.

"It is you. Who are you and why are you here?' The man was watching him and Will thought he saw him swallow hard before softly clearing his throat. Almost nervously. Still somewhat in the shadows, he could tell the man had one arm in a sling, but besides even that obvious clue, Will knew the man was not a doctor. This was absolutely his personal and so recently unrelenting ghost now in the flesh.

"Where am I?" Will asked.

"You're at Kauai Medical being treated for a pretty bad staph infection and dehydration. Do you know who I am?" The man was whispering in kind and seemed anxious for an answer. And not just for any answer, but the right one. Unable to provide what the man wanted though, Will shook his head no but then somewhat revised his response.

"I've seen you .. or someone like you .. sometimes." At the risk of sounding melodramatic or like he might have a mental screw loose, Will hesitantly tried to explain what he meant before giving up. "Just .. sometimes."

"It's okay. You'll remember." Though it was tinged with sadness, Will frowned at the confident tone and then the implication that he'd actually forgotten something or even had a problem. Oddly, he wasn't angry though because he was more intrigued that his ghost-like image was real and there was something about the husky voice which sparked something more in his memory. He realized then, that his annoying apparition had never spoken in his dreams or seemed to be so emotional.

"Who are you? My name is Will." He saw the quirky amused smile creep across the partly shadowed face. The man moved closer as he continued to smile and a small echoey chuffed sniffle emanated from deep in his chest.

"Well, that would be close. But not quite right." Again, Will didn't have the energy to feel offended by the gently said but very contrary remarks. Confused, instead he changed the subject as his eyes fought to remain open.

"Where's Peka?" His voice carried a hoarseness caused by fever and exhaustion, and it never dawned on him that his now real ghost had not provided his name in return. Will vaguely remembered the long boat trip and then being boarded by Coast Guardsmen, one of whom seemed to know him. But tossed about by the rough waters and in a daze from Trudy's treatment, he'd been too ill and much too worn-out to care. He still felt just as sick as before, but he only had the young woman on his mind. It was worrisome that his apparition had taken a solid form and yet Peka was no where to be found.

"Where is she? Is Peka alright?" The flicker of displeasure was quickly hidden and Will was too tired to catch the terseness of the reply.

"Sleeping. She's fine." It was late at night, so Will accepted the simple answer as he fought to keep his eyes open. He wanted to talk more to this stranger, yet clearly lacked the energy. Trying to get more comfortable, he winced as he shifted a bit in bed and felt the hot pull across his ribs. Tracing the bandages lightly, Will felt something in his side and frowned in confusion at the tight pressure.

"Doctor Paulson flushed and debrided the area that's infected. There's a drain there now." Seeing the obvious discomfort, the answer was provided before he had to ask. Then as if he were dancing around something of great consequence or too sensitive, there was a long pause as the man opened and then closed his mouth. He considered his next question which, when it came out, seemed to be intentionally basic.

"How do you feel?"

"Sick. Tired .. so sick." Blinking rapidly, Will breathed out the truth honestly as an unhealthy chill echoed through his very bones. His eyes were fighting him now to close for good, but he felt the man walk to the top of the bed to stand closer and more in the light. Another blanket was pulled up to his chest and he sighed his thanks as strong fingers entwined around his hand.

"You're going to be okay." With no reason not to, Will returned the shared sturdy warmth.

"You're real." Will's eyes were fluttering shut as the man came more into the light and he blearily squinted up at him. Dark-haired, tall and with unrelenting eyes that expressed worry, a bit of sadness and yet so much hope. In his dreams, the man never appeared as he did now. Scruffy and worn, circles smudged his eyes from a combined strain of not only being very tired, but also from a physical pain.

Despite what he could see, Will thought for a moment that he might really know him because at least the funny expression was familiar. "I didn't think you were real." He whispered.

"Yeah. I'm very real but we can talk later." The man whispered back now with a distinct note of pleasure. It didn't matter to him that Will might not be explaining himself well, or speaking in complete sentences. His happiness was palpable and it calmed any worries that Will might have had.

"Get some sleep. I'll be here when you wake up again."

The words were soothing and Will nodded but then weakly squeezed the man's hand again as way of thanks. The warmth was returned and lingered in a friendly reassuring way. Will frowned as their eyes briefly met and he struggled to put a name to the man's face, but only managed the expression.

"Kicked puppy." Will breathed out weakly as he studied the man's fast fading face. He didn't understand why the look would be aimed so personally at himself, either. "You look like you lost your best friend."

The words took everything Will had left at his disposal and he fell asleep just as the man gripped his hand even more strongly. He missed the smile that crinkled the frightened eyes and lightened the severe gloom from a mutual exhaustion. Will never heard him correct his last statement.

"No. That's not quite right." Steve carefully eased himself down on the edge of the bed as Danny sunk into a deep sleep. Thoughts of this Peka sobered him, but Steve didn't doubt that Danny would remember at some point. He was already going down that path with oddly offered snippets such as recognizing bits and pieces of Steve, himself.

"As a matter of fact," grinning foolishly, Steve smoothed the blankets back into place. "I just found him, Danno."

_**~ to be continued ~**_


	5. Chapter 5

**I do not own Hawaii Five-0 or any characters. No copyright infringement intended.**

**Notes: **so excited you all like this "short" (I'm at 7 chapters firm) story! my continued thanks to CinderH who had pretty much beta'd the whole thing at the drop of a hat!

VERY sad news too about Paul Walker. He and Scott are friends, and this is just extremely sad sad news. RIP for someone much too young.

**H5O* H5O* H5O* H5O* H5O***

**Chapter Five**

For the second time, now just a bit shy of eight anxiety-filled hours, Steve called Chin and Kono. However, it was because Danny finally had woken. It didn't matter that it was just barely approaching dawn. Each was expecting the call - any call - and they answered their respective phones on the first ring. Steve had rehearsed the words and yet still stammered a mixture of nonsensical syllables to each as he insisted they fly to Kauai first scheduled flight of the morning.

_"We're booked already, Steve."_ He could tell Chin was beaming on the other side of the call even for the obscene hour. Most likely rolling his eyes too at the gibberish he was hearing. His question about Steve getting some rest either was ignored or not even heard.

"I want you to both definitely make the next flight out here. I don't have the full story yet. But we have three to question." Breaking the news about the amnesia was difficult. Danny had only woken the one time, and if what Peka said was true, he had lost his entire past. It certainly appeared to be the case but only in part since Danny seemed to recognize something about Steve, himself. However, Doctor Paulson was stunned and had no immediate answers when Steve described the short conversation.

During the doctor's own questioning, Peka had proudly explained that her cousin was a skilled herbalist and even considered near shamanistic. They had done their best for Will using organic antibacterial salves and natural pain remedies. Paulson had not been entirely able to confirm any volume of such substances in Danny's blood stream, so his assumption was that he'd certainly not been given anything which would cause memory loss. With his patient so ill, they would have to wait and see the actual extent of the memory loss which clearly seemed due to prior injuries.

Paulson was waiting for Steve now in the hallway to block his way back into the ICU. His expression was unrelenting and broached no room for discussion. He had a wheelchair poised in front of him which helped effectively keep Steve from moving past.

"Sit. Now." The young doctor was angry as he pushed the chair in Steve's direction. "I have a bed for you. You're going to take it, lay in it, and get some sleep."

In undisguised pain and reeling from exhaustion, the Commander was rocking unsteadily in place and cradling his injured arm stiffly to his side. He had alternated between chair-ridden cat naps, briefings with the local authorities and any number of what he called "urgent tasks". Paulson had decided that enough was certainly, enough.

"This is a small hospital and you'll be sharing a room here in the ICU with Detective Williams." Steve had begun to bristle in his own defense but gave in quickly enough as Paulson guided him into the chair. With the destination now back to Danny's room, he relented entirely. Somewhere between his calls back to Oahu, an orderly had already wheeled in another bed nearest the door. A nurse was waiting for him with a gown and a variety of other medical supplies.

"Change in here and then get yourself settled in bed. I'll wait for you." Paulson was giving him no opportunity to speak or make any decisions on his own. Thrusting the white gown into Steve's hands, he pushed him now towards the bathroom. Through the door, Steve was advised of the next non-negotiable steps and couldn't help smiling to himself as he secured the gown.

"You are going to be hooked up to an IV for both fluids and antibiotics, and I've prescribed pain medication as well. You will sleep."

Within minutes of changing, Steve found himself catered to by the nurse and Paulson who silently got to business doing everything previously listed. He learned quickly that Paulson had called his doctors back on Oahu and had received his recent surgical records. His care would continue under Paulson's strict edict and Steve had to admit some relief in being able to finally get off his feet.

Dizzy and not thinking straight, he closed his eyes as the final intravenous was hooked up to needed fluids. Though it wasn't, the bed felt like it was spinning and nauseous, Steve knew he'd gone much too far. The nurse removed the restrictive sling but only for the doctor to evaluate and redress the gunshot wound for which Steve simply didn't twitch a muscle. Lights were then dimmed and blankets draped over his legs. Whatever pain medication Paulson had finally injected into the intravenous line was strong and Steve soon felt the warmth trickling through his veins inch by inch.

As the activity dissipated and he was left alone to sleep, Steve felt himself almost reluctantly relaxing. But before allowing his eyes to truly grow heavy, he propped himself slightly on his side to face his partner. Danny was still sleeping as he had left him but this time, not entirely peacefully. Even with the tan, his face was flushed with fever and he was mumbling uncomfortably while his hands jerked and then clenched the bedding in distress.

Glancing once towards the open door to the hallway, Steve turned back towards Danny. His rough whisper was pointed and only meant for Danny's ears and Steve hoped he would hear him. "Danny, you're okay. Everything's fine and you're safe. Try to sleep. You're home now."

The aggrieved murmurs paused and Danny furrowed his brow more deeply but his hands finally stilled. He seemed to sink more deeply into the bedding before he said something else which was just barely audible. It was Steve's turn to quiet and hold his breath because he was certain that Danny had just said his name.

Watchful once more, Steve stayed propped on his side until his own body gave up and his eyes demanded that they slide permanently shut.

**H5O* H5O* H5O* H5O* H5O***

Will woke muzzy-headed just after dawn, still feeling sick and very feverish. It took him time to remember where he was and why, but then he was confused and worried when he didn't see Peka. The still somewhat darkened room was quiet and he tiredly closed his eyes before opening them quickly in alarm.

With an effort, Will thumbed the head of the bed up a few inches to stare at the dark-haired man who now lay in a hospital bed next to him. His face was turned towards him, affording Will a private opportunity to study him in detail. The silhouette was identical to the shape in his dreams and he felt somewhat redeemed and vindicated to find that the man was indeed quite real. What he didn't understand was the man's apparent rundown state and mussed appearance. Needing a shave of his own, the dark-hair was every which way as he slumbered heavily in the next bed.

Will frowned as a name teased his memory. He also wondered what else was true; what other of his splintered feelings or memories were real versus things he had accepted with both Trudy and Peka. He studied the man with a weary intensity and without thinking, whispered the first name that popped firmly to mind.

"Steve." It sounded right and the man next to him shifted in his sleep before he slowly began to awaken. Cautiously trying again, Will repeated the name as a question and the man's eyes opened wide while his head snapped quickly in his direction.

"Steve?" Fully awake in a scant second, the other man was lurching forward and almost on his feet with a look so concerned, Will instantly apologized. "I'm sorry. Is that wrong?"

Then he watched in surprise as the man undid the intravenous lines he was connected to. "Ah, should you be doing that?"

His ghost shadow was shaking his head _no_ as his shock turned into a pleased grin. Will was surprised even more when he had the gall to sit on the edge of his own bed. Stammering at the quick changes, Will repeated his apologetic question about using the name.

"Steve? Am I .. was .. is that ... wrong?"

"No, Danny .. it's very right." Steve was thrilled as one tiny seed was tossed his way, but the feeling was tempered by the unexpected response.

"What? No. My name is Will." He objected softly though he rolled around the name in his head. He glanced once at Steve and frowned at the hopeful look which was still layered with a dose of amusement, but he refused to bite.

"Why are you here and why were you admitted to the hospital?" Will meant _here_ as in his own hospital room. Rudely too, in his personal space and he poked at Steve's knee when it rocked next to his blanket-covered hip.

Continuing to study him for he refused to take the hint, Will slowly absorbed the hospital gown and then the discarded intravenous lines which led to two different bagged fluids. He was similarly confused by Steve's former bedridden state. He began to wonder if the man had always been a patient and perhaps he should be more worried than he really was about this special visitor. Especially since he was now so brazenly sitting on the bed right next to him.

"Are you sick?" It was asked cautiously and held a bit of trepidation.

"Not, exactly." Steve sighed around his grin while moving the sleeve of the gown so that Will could see the bandages on his upper arm near his shoulder. He spoke a bit deliberately to see if anything seemed familiar. "I was hit taking down Gavin Colton and his entourage at the docks. Colton was killed in the exchange between our team with the support of HPD SWAT."

His voice faded as Will noticeably paled and sweat began to bead across his upper lip. He wanted Danny to remember and thought the explanation might be vague enough, but he should have been more careful. Steve was speaking almost as if Danny understood and he most certainly did not. A strange gloomy look passed over his face and his eyes suddenly became haunted before taking on a vacant stare.

"Danno?" It was a frightening change and so rapid, Steve gasped in surprise as he grappled for the remote and the nurse's call button. Staring straight ahead, his friend was suddenly unseeing and barely breathing.

"Danny!" The unexpected reaction scared Steve even more when he failed at regaining Danny's attention. He was mortified when Danny's eyes simply closed and he wilted feebly back into the pillows as if he'd lost consciousness. "Come on, Danny. I'm sorry .. I wasn't thinking. Come on back."

Whispering over and over, Steve tried to lay his hand on Danny's chest to rouse him. Through the thin gown, he could feel the continuing fever but then the pounding of Danny's heart was much too rapid and erratic.

"God, I'm sorry. Danny." Cursing himself, Steve viciously thumbed the call button again for help. He was relieved to hear footsteps coming rapidly down the hallway. Biting his lip and hating himself for the sudden urge to say it, Steve choked out a different tact but even that still failed. "Will. Will, can you hear me?"

Will never heard him though, nor registered Doctor Paulson's anxious arrival. _Gavin Colton._ He knew that terrible name and it brought both pain and fear forward in a startling rush. Will suddenly remembered an apartment on a bright, sunny morning. The window over the kitchen sink was open and a pleasantly scented breeze was blowing the curtains. He was early for work and enjoying his second cup of coffee. But it wasn't safe. Danger was in the very air around him.

The memory intensified. He was back there again in his own body and holding a favorite ceramic coffee cup in his hand. It was blue with multi-colored hearts and he suddenly knew who had given it to him that one long ago Father's Day. _Grace_. His _Grace_ had given the gift to him, prettily wrapped in a small box.

He was about to take another sip when two men literally broke through his front door in a maddening rush. He distinctly remembered the coffee's smell, heard the hard thud and then the sound as the mug shattered and splashed the dark coffee in a steaming mess across the ceramic tile floor. He recalled a momentary flash of anger that Grace's mug had broken ... but then nothing else. A flood of white noise followed and then a long period of darkness where he woke sick and in pain to stare up into a bland Hawaiian face.

"Peka?" Out loud and in the hospital bed, Will said her name reflexively only because she was what he next saw in his mind. But in uttering her name, Will increased Steve's rising anxiety level. Weak and confused, Will soon felt the presence of the others who had entered the hospital room. However, in trying to recapture the pleasantly scented breeze and thoughts of Grace, he couldn't open his eyes to the diluted mix of sounds that were so worried, indistinct and muffled. He was overcome by emotions and hectic noise which disrupted too many splintered memories.

It was all too much and Will couldn't cope. All he could clearly hear was the blood rushing and his heart pounding in his ears as he argued with himself. Almost in a panic, he retreated to take refuge as Will with Peka on a simple boring island.

_"My name is Will. Not ...Danny. Will. I'm Will." _ Moments later, a warmth entered his arm and he sank into a peaceful oblivion.

_**~ to be continued ~**_


	6. Chapter 6

**I do not own Hawaii Five-0 or any characters. No copyright infringement intended.**

**Notes:**

**H5O* H5O* H5O* H5O* H5O***

**Chapter Six**

"What happened?" Doctor Paulson angrily demanded as his very ill patient fell into a medicated sleep. Calling for an oxygen mask, he replaced the nasal cannula and anchored his stethoscope back into his ears to listen to Danny's heart before getting an answer from his second and incredibly upset patient.

"I think he remembered something. It was my fault." Steve whispered shakily as the same nurse physically guided him back to his own bed. She was as annoyed as Paulson as she reattached the fluids and checked his own blood pressure readings.

"He seemed okay and then he just stopped communicating ... he went somewhere and didn't come back. I said the wrong thing. It's my fault."

Suspecting more, Paulson almost rounded on Steve before forcing himself to remain calm and reasonable. He had told him to be careful of intentional triggers or too much well-intended coaching. The commander was pale and, unable to take his eyes off the detective's now lax face, was literally trembling. Grumbling to himself, Paulson gave Steve a withering look, but said no more. He'd been duly scared back into his own hospital bed.

"It's my fault. I wasn't careful and you warned me." Paulson's lip twitched as the man took on the job of severely berating himself without needing the doctor's intervention. "Is he alright .. how bad was this?"

"His blood pressure bottomed out and his oxygen stats are low, but both are coming back up nicely." The doctor wasn't overly pleased with Danny's general vital signs though and Steve easily read that truth between the lines. Paulson couldn't entirely hide his displeasure with his second patient either as he waited for his nurse to complete her tasks with Steve before folding his arms meaningfully.

"His temperature is still very high and he's extremely weak, Commander. What exactly happened in here and why were you out of bed?"

Steve lay back into the pillows and covered his face with his left hand. It was then that he noticed that he was still shaking. He'd made a stupid mistake after being warned to not discuss Danny's past, too soon. "It's my fault." He admitted it again, wishing he could take back every word he said about being shot on the docks and the damnable Gavin Colton.

"So, you've said." Paulson waited and then listened as Steve summarized what had happened. Dismayed about having explained the details of his wounded arm, Steve's eyes met the doctor's as Paulson tried to reassure him because the discussion could easily have been quite vague enough.

"Nothing's really changed in his condition, Commander. He needs a great deal of rest and zero stress if we can manage it. That in itself will be difficult if he's beginning to remember things as you say. Any number of things can easily cause that to happen without anyone even saying a word."

"He knew my name. Before this happened." He skipped the fact that Danny had eventually whispered Peka's name, too. That was more than upsetting in that his partner once more seemed to want or even prefer the Hawaiian's company. Because of that, Steve needed some type of other reassurance before the doctor left them and Paulson didn't entirely disappoint.

"He's alright, Commander. Overall, what happened is a good sign." The doctor remained concerned though as he rechecked Danny's readings and then ensured Steve was settled in his own bed once more. "I agree that it's a step in the right direction. But both of you both need much more rest now; I suggest taking this as it comes and then, as slowly as possible."

**H5O* H5O* H5O* H5O* H5O***

Many hours later, Will became partially aware of a soft hum of activity taking place around him. An oxygen mask was firmly in place and he could feel the air circulating strongly around his lips and nose. Exhausted as always and not entirely awake, he lay listlessly and with his eyes closed as the hum became distinct voices. He counted two in addition to Steve's deeper timbre; one was a young woman and at first, he thought it was Peka until he realized her tone and accent were more polished. The second was a man and possibly older but equally soothing and without threat, so Will just listened.

"He can't be moved for awhile." Will could have guessed the discussion would focus on him. Steve seemed to be explaining that he was too weak to leave the ICU or even the hospital for that matter. He wholeheartedly agreed as the tiniest motion brought on a breathless, dizzying weariness that seemed to dwell in his very bones.

Will missed much of their conversation after that as he drifted in and out of awareness. Content enough for the peaceful company, he listened to the hum and snatches of the few syllables he could make out here and there. At one point the young woman must have sat quietly by his side without his being fully aware for he felt slender fingers on his own. She brought a scent of freshly brewed coffee and he thought she must have recently had a cup; but there was also an undertone of sand, salt and clean ocean air.

"He's so sick. His hands are like ice." There were tears in her voice but such a volume of utter relief. She obviously knew him and Will thought something was definitely familiar about her gentle presence. "I can't believe he's home though .. it's a miracle, Steve."

He didn't feel like anything miraculous had happened since he was truly miserable and couldn't stop his body from the occasional fevered tremble. Another blanket was draped over him but it wasn't the woman who did it because she continued to rub his cold fingers between her own. Drifting again, Will focused on closing his fingers on hers and was rewarded with a faint surprised gasp.

"Danny. He hears me." It was so innocently phrased and full of a genuine concern, Will wanted to open his eyes and speak to her. Barely managing to do more than grip her fingers, he was much too lethargic though. Once more, that controversial name came his way; but with it this time, was a niggling doubt of being Will and then ... the uneasy thoughts about the dimly remembered apartment, a blue coffee mug with hearts .. and _Grace_. Stuck in a type of rewind, his mind latched on to what he had remembered the last time he woke. He shivered from an unknown chill as the scent of coffee lingered nearby, then growing distracted, it was all he could muster to continually hold the woman's slender fingers.

"Danny, we're all here." Her soft voice loomed closer and he envisioned her leaning sweetly over him. Long dark hair was spilling over to partially hide her face and he knew that she would be tucking it almost resentfully behind an ear. Still, he mentally argued back that his name was Will, but it suddenly seemed a fight not worth taking on.

"Chin's here, too and once you get better, things will be fine. We can take you home."

"Kono." Will felt the presence of this older man now by his side. He had obviously laid the second blanket over him but the woman's name was repeated then by Steve with a slight tone of warning.

"Kono, not too much in case .. he's not ready. We're not sure what he can hear .. he's not ready for too much." It happened again though as Will rolled the woman's name around silently on his tongue. _Kono_. He knew Kono, her long dark hair and warm smile. Of course, there would be a flash of the beach and waves since that beautiful watery domain was her other life.

However, the sudden onset of a remembered child's voice halted his next breath. He instinctively knew it was his Grace and her laughing image flashed behind his closed eyes. It wasn't Steve's fault or even Kono's. He was remembering more and more as he caught fragments of a conversation, recalled murky memories or even sensed the soft scent of brewed coffee near him.

_"Danno, Aunt Kono is going to teach me how to surf!" _

He felt the stunned spark through to his fingers which tightened anew on the gentle hand. Behind his lids, his eyes were moving rapidly as a series of things happened all at once and he vaguely heard the worried tones rising around him as his heart monitor trilled. The coffee mug came back in living color but it was now the day he'd gotten it from Grace. Father's Day two years earlier and maybe even the first he celebrated with her in Hawaii.

More details came to mind. Heavy shiny foiled black and gold paper. An ornate gold bow to match with a homemade card. '_Happy Father's Day, Danno!'_ He had pulled the mug from a small box much to his daughter's delight. _"Do you like it, daddy?"_

"Something's wrong! Chin .. we need the doctor in here! Steve!" At a far distance, he registered the fear in Kono's voice as his heart hammered in his chest and he forgot the warmth of her hands. He coughed, winced and then took in a shuttering, heaved intake of air. But it wasn't enough.

_"Danno, you can do anything."_ Grace. _Monkey_. His own little Grace with Uncle Steve. _Steve_. Her mug had broken back in the apartment; his apartment before Peka appeared next in his life.

_"I love you, Danno!" _On the heels of those words, the glimmer of gold he remembered once from a dream solidified into a whole shape which he knew so well. Again, with _Steve_ but now Kono and Chin were nearby in his thoughts; whole and solid as firmly placed friendly memories. They were visiting him at that very moment in the hospital.

Danny Williams replaced ordinary Will and he nearly chuckled at his own rapidly fading joke. Instead he coughed and wheezed in the hospital bed as Kono held his shoulders down and his back arched off the mattress. He understood now what Steve had meant early on by_ ".. that would be close ... but not quite" _when he had so determinedly insisted that his name was Will. His friend was waiting for him to remember and nearly beside himself by Danny's continued confusion.

No longer Will and wondering why Peka had lied to him so very much, Danny lost consciousness of his own accord as his body revolted against the stress and shock. It happened before Chin could run for help and long before Doctor Paulson could even get to the room.

**H5O* H5O* H5O* H5O* H5O***

He knew that he'd been sedated once again for his mental transgressions that seemed to manifest as major physical disturbances. Barely able to think for the murkiness in his head, Danny blearily realized that was fully the doctor's point as he forced his eyes open. His view was a blurred haze and he couldn't really see anything of note in his general vicinity. The oxygen mask was ever-present and he was neatly tucked in warm blankets. Danny felt over-heated this time though and he was groggy as he tried to fight one top blanket off his chest, only to give up with a frustrated exhale.

"Steve?" He tried to project his voice from under the mask but he only felt his own puff of warm breath return to hit his overly dry lips. Immediately annoyed, he unraveled his hand from the bedding. The effort was slow and tiring, leaving him with his eyes closed and panting. But Danny managed to push the mask sloppily off to the side where it fell to the pillows.

"Steve? Steve .. are you here?" The surprised oath he heard from some corner in the room, made him sketch a tired smile. With an effort, Danny reopened his eyes which still refused to entirely focus. The man in question appeared in his line of sight, ruffled and undeniably worried. And, he was already reprimanding him for having pushed off the oxygen mask.

"Hey, what do you think you're doing?" Unable to prevent it from happening, Danny felt the oxygen mask go right back into place. He was sweating though and he wanted more.

"Hot. Too hot." He expected Steve to understand and he did as he used the back of his hand on Danny's forehead, and then rolled one top blanket away.

"You're temperature is down a bit." He was speaking carefully and gauging Danny very closely. He had woken a few times before, but was never coherent enough or awake for very long. Paulson was hours away from a feeding tube if his patient didn't begin to show a marked improvement - and soon. In Steve's opinion, that was another sign of potential decline and he was anxious as Danny actually stayed awake for more than five seconds and was increasingly more aware.

"It's good .. you're way too thin though, pal. But you're doing okay. What else do you need? Water? Are you hungry yet? You need to eat something."

"Don't know." Danny thought about that as he blinked his eyes to prevent the pull of sleep which was coming much too quickly. "Too tired. Too .. soon."

The exasperation came through loud and clear which made Steve grin softly. He laid his hand on Danny's chest to offer some support for his very ill friend and then reached for the cup of water before he could ask. He smiled ruefully at needing to remove the oxygen since it had just been put back in place, but Danny sighed in relief as the coolness immediately satisfied his parched throat and mouth. He couldn't complain when Steve replaced the mask once more.

"I know .. this wiped you out but Doctor Paulson is doing a good job getting the infection under control and your fever is coming down." Steve dropped his eyes from Danny's face to study one of the I.V. lines in Danny's arm.

"You're going to feel weak for a long while. You need to eat something if you can manage it." It was then that Danny noticed Steve was in regular street clothes. His arm was no longer in a sling, but his partner's face was wracked with his own demons and crossed heavily with fatigue. Though new clothes had been brought to him, it was obvious that Steve hadn't left the hospital at all.

"How long?" Raising his hand to pull on Steve's shirt sleeve, he turned his head to see that the second hospital bed was indeed made up and not being used.

"Two days, Danny." His partner had managed to scare not only him this time, but also Chin and Kono. It was a feat unto itself because he hadn't even truly opened his eyes or roused to a full waking state.

Paulson considered the episode to be a medical emergency brought on by the patient's unstable condition. However Chin, Kono and especially Steve knew it was due to something else. Once more, Danny had either heard them or remembered something in his negligible state .. or even both .. and he'd bottomed out in shock. Steve immediately bit his lip, worried that he'd used his rightful name and was then relieved when he didn't hear the retort. Instead, Danny seemed more surprised at the long gap of time yet again inflicted on a poor memory.

"It's alright. Don't think too much ... just focus on getting well."

"Two? Two full days?" It had been touch and go after the last unnamed episode. Danny's vitals had bottomed out again and his fever had fought the doctor's best regimen for hours on end. Spiking one last time, it had finally broken leaving Danny in a complex physical state that Paulson fought to stabilize. Shushing him, Steve was instantly worried about Danny's stunned reaction.

"It's okay. Just ... take it easy." Not knowing what to say, Steve tried to keep things as simple as possible. However, one finger was poised near the nurse's call button in case another frightening episode reared its ugly head again.

"When can I go home?" That unanticipated question resulted in a block of awkward silence. Steve didn't know what to say, because he didn't know which _home _Danny meant. The safe answer was lobbed back to being the hospital's sole responsibility.

"I'm not sure. It's up to Paulson and how well you gain some better ground." Danny frowned as he tried to raise the bed, but even his motor skills were off as his thumb missed the button. Nothing seemed to be working right and his annoyance grew as his body continued to rebel.

"I got it." Steve offered as he brought the bed up higher. "How do you feel .. do you need anything? You're allowed to eat and you should. Maybe broth?"

Danny stared at his best friend, once again noting the dark circles under his eyes and the fact he needed a shave. He had so many questions, all of which were equally important to him. Starting at the top, he wanted to know how many lies Peka had led him to believe. He knew now that he'd never been in the Army or served in Iraq. However, based on Steve's deep attention, he'd at least been missing for a long, long time.

"Colton. How long .. was I gone ... really?" By the way his posture stiffened, he saw that Steve didn't want to answer. Fearful of another frightening, detrimental episode, Steve gently tapped his chest warningly and shook his head to refuse the topic of conversation. He was surprised when Danny pushed his hand away to let some of his own anger take over which gave him a moment of resolve.

"Steve, I need to know. She told me it was at least a year or maybe even more, and that I chose to be there .. to stay with them." His voice muffled, Danny paused and grimaced unhappily because his doubts were growing and he was worried about his own daughter. "I don't remember. So, is that true? Was I gone for that long?"

"A year .. or more? No." Steve's eyes angrily snapped up at that, though he was cognizant that Danny hadn't actually said Peka's name as of yet. He was also mad for the first time Steve could tell with the Hawaiian woman. "Four months. Four long, terrible months .. we lost you and I let you down. Entirely."

"Let me ..down? I doubt that's .. even ... possible." Losing his voice, Danny quieted as he digested this other truth as Steve's mouth gaped open in confusion. His eyes slowly locked back up on Steve's face because he could cope with months. Maybe.

Danny's voice was gravelly from dryness and tight from a rising stress. "Tell me about Grace .. how's Grace? What does she know .. what does she think?"

"Grace?" Steve's mouth closed, opened and then slammed shut before he could repeat her name. "Danny? Grace?"

Tears filled Steve's eyes as he heaved in a shuddering breath. It made sense now why Danny hadn't mentioned Peka; she'd been directly involved with his abduction and then continued lies to keep him under control. But Danny was more than coherent and Steve had to be sure as he sank down to sit next to him on the bed. "Danny, you remember?"

The nod was equally emotional as Danny focused on his daughter and Steve's still distraught expression. "You took care of her for me. I know you did .. but what does she think? Is she going to be alright?"

"Yeah, Danno." Annoyed once more with the mask, Steve intercepted Danny's hand in relief. Completely relaxing, the rest came out in a fast rush. "She knows you're here and she's fine. She's going to be so much better when you get home. It's just going to take another day or two since Doc says you can't fly until you're stabilized. I have to warn you too, because you'll probably go directly from one hospital to another. But we're taking you home .. that is .. if you want to go."

Steve still had his own doubts and was hesitant to push too hard or even reference other plans that Danny might not want to hear. He didn't have to worry based on the amused expression, partially hidden for the oxygen mask.

"Really?" There was a soft sound before Danny actually smiled at possibly not wanting to go. Though he was worn out by their discussion and his eyes were nearly refusing to focus due to fatigue, Danny did understand enough though to be sensitive to the cautious tone in Steve's voice. Pointing his finger up from his chest, he aimed at Steve's face. "You. You can be such a goof sometimes, Steven."

Steve's lop-sided grin grew and he had to look away to get control of his emotions. "Go to sleep, Danno. We'll take care of everything .. just get well."

_**~ to be continued ~**_


	7. Chapter 7

**I do not own Hawaii Five-0 or any characters. No copyright infringement intended.**

**Notes**: I did not mean to tell an untruth, but this is not the last chapter. The muses said this piece had to stand alone. I am choosing not to argue!

**H5O* H5O* H5O* H5O* H5O***

**Chapter Seven **

Once he remembered, Danny didn't want to see Peka and no one could fault him for the decision. Maybe he would later after he fully recovered; but not yet. Not now. That decision made Steve's job that much the easier as Danny allowed him to make virtually every decision on his behalf. Most of which focused on his medical plan and transfer back to Oahu. That was soon to end though once he understood the extent of Steve's desire to incarcerate Peka as an accessory along with the other members of Colton's entourage. While he might not have had the energy or desire to see her, Danny certainly didn't want her prosecuted.

"I won't allow it, Chin. Where is he?" Danny was frustrated by a voice that seemed unable to sound strong enough to express his true opinion. For once in quite some time, Steve had yet to show up at the hospital since the prior afternoon and Danny was worried. He'd left Chin in his stead since none of them wanted Danny to be alone for less than sixty seconds .. if at all.

"You don't understand how or where they live. You don't get that she lost her husband and Aaron is only a baby. Peka needed the money and had no idea who I was. She didn't know I was a cop. Where is he?" Winded by his tirade, he stopped to take a sorely needed breath of air.

"I think I do know a thing or two about her lifestyle." Chin objected strongly to that one point as he neatly avoided the question of where Steve might be. "The fact is, she took the money and because of that, she is an accessory in your abduction."

Taking in a wheezing breath, Danny waved his spoon in Chin's direction. Once his lunch had arrived, he'd been propped up in the side chair for a well-deserved change of pace. Now he used the soup spoon as a weapon to solidify his point. "Not entirely true. She did protect me from Colton's men when they came back."

"For her own benefit and she never told you the truth. She lied over and over again to keep you under her thumb." Chin drawled in return as he tried to find a way to put a stop to the heated conversation. Folding his arms defensively, he was equally frustrated by his friend's counter-arguments. "Danny, she took a significant bribe to hold you captive and never notified the authorities."

"She gave the money to her family. They all used the money to live ... for supplies." He refused to back down and the outbursts were exhausting him. Chin held both his hands up to forestall another emotional verbal sparring match since Danny could ill afford to get so upset. Danny's voice quavered weakly before breaking and dwindling to a whisper. "For two boats and fishing nets. For food and supplies to keep their so-called houses a bit more habitable."

"Alright, Danny. You can't get worked up like this!" Worried, Chin agreed to play intermediary between the two. "I'll talk to Steve and get something more equitable figured out. Please relax and try to eat your lunch."

"She brought me here for help. That has to say something." He glowered one last time as Chin frowned angrily back because the woman had admitted to her cousin's intervention as being very pivotal in the final decision. According to the Coast Guard, Doctor Paulson and Steve, Peka had continued to lie for hours until threatened with being charged with kidnapping of a police officer and obstruction. Steve wanted those charges to stick and for a judge to decide her fate.

"Okay. Alright." Chin pacified Danny over the touchy subject. "But you need to take it easy, brah. Please try to understand how long you've been gone; this hasn't been easy on any of us. Besides, you need to eat or Paulson might change his mind about getting you out of here tomorrow."

That important point finally ended the conversation. Braced with pillows in the side chair, with a bowl of broth and crackers on the table in front of him, Danny agreed that he should be dwelling on other important things. Such as finally being able to see his daughter.

"Yeah, okay." Idly spinning the spoon through the hot broth, Danny was suddenly a million miles away. He had improved enough to be cleared to fly back to Oahu but only for another hospital bed. He would leave the next day and make that short trip on an approved medivac with two qualified technicians and of course, Steve. He was worried and nervous because he'd be seeing Grace and four months was nearly a lifetime for them both. Not knowing what he would say or why, Danny got caught up in hashing and then rehashing various scenarios in his head.

"It's better if you eat while it's hot. And you certainly need to eat, Danno." The pleasant drawl sounded from the doorway and Danny looked up briefly. Chin was gone and Steve was lounging arrogantly there, arms crossed and leaning against the frame.

"You're back." His tone was distracted almost bland, and he looked back down to continue staring blindly into the clear steaming broth. Caught up in not remembering her for so long, Danny's personal feelings of guilt pulled him further down. Moodily, his face darkened as he chastised himself which Steve immediately noticed.

"Tones I'm used to on you, Danno, but not faces - trust me that things will work out and be just fine."

Danny squinted in annoyance as the broth and spoon shimmered together. Grace was his life and his only reason he sometimes got from one day to another. Now, he didn't know what would happen or how he might be able to ever apologize. Toying with the broth, Danny vaguely heard the tolerant sigh but Steve didn't enter the room; not entirely.

He waited, but Danny was back to his listless playing. Behind him in the corridor, Chin and Kono were quietly standing by with Grace in hand between them. Because he knew that Danny had begun to dwell and would only exacerbate his rather meager improvements, Steve had made some significant arrangements. And now, looking at the strangely quiet and pensive man, he was very happy that he had.

"So, I have a remedy for you but you have to promise to mind your manners and not get too worked up." It wasn't difficult to keep his voice light as he bent over at his waist while waggling his fingers in a beckoning motion behind his back. Within seconds, Grace was by his side and wringing his hand so tightly in excitement, Steve had to work at not laughing out loud.

"Steve. What are you talking about?" The tone barely changed and he still didn't look back up. Steve didn't doubt that his partner wasn't even listening to a word he was saying. Wrapped in blankets and looking for all the world as if he were still lost, Danny dwelled on what would happen or not happen when he met with his daughter the very next day.

Glancing down at Grace, Steve smiled happily as she beamed back up at him. He mouthed that she needed to remember to go slow and she nodded. Her eyes were filled with happy tears when he put his hand on her head and pushed her gently forward.

"Go on. Slowly." He whispered just under his breath and then he just waited. Silently, Chin and Kono eased up next to him to watch the scene unfold.

"Maybe we should have told him first." Kono muttered, but Steve shook his head while raising his hand for them all to be still. Danny had seemingly already forgotten they were even there as he slouched dejectedly and his eyes tiredly closed.

"Get off my back, I'll eat it." Danny muttered when he felt the filtered light dim and the movement next to him. There was a moment of silence during which Danny frowned disagreeably. He was about to complain about Steve's overbearing attitude when he sensed the difference, but then it was too late.

"Danno?" He jolted badly and dropped the spoon to slosh the soup over the side of the bowl and onto the tray. "Uncle Steve brought me to see you."

Tears now spilling down her cheeks, Danny was suddenly eye to eye with Grace from where he sat. The stunned noise he made was a garbled sob combined with an attempt at pronouncing her name. Awkwardly pushing the raised tray away, more soup spilled as Danny lurched forward to gather Grace into his arms and then to his lap.

With his face buried in her hair and her arms wrapped around his neck, he had nothing to say and no reason to try.

**~ to be continued ~**


	8. Chapter 8

**I do not own Hawaii Five-0 or any characters. No copyright infringement intended.**

**Notes**: I am so grateful for such generous praise from everyone for this story! REALLY very much - thank you. RL is overwhelming at the moment and it makes me happy when I can share some things with you all. I apologize for not being able to respond individually (yet) to some of you. This was hard to end (ugh 7 chapters!) - I hope this ending is satisfying. The muses were MAD MAD MAD that Danny went back to Nihau. So a re-write of the original ending was done per Steve's well sold argument. I fibbed about six chapters and then about content_ *wet noodle - sigh*_

Many thanks to CinderH who worked her bottom off reading and re-reading drafts so quickly. **hugs** And to JazzieG and CinderH who kicked the muses out of the final chapter "funk" with some desperately needed words of wisdom!

**H5O* H5O* H5O* H5O* H5O***

**Chapter Eight - END**

Steve couldn't help doing what he did. It certainly was more than an owed feeling of responsibility or their deep friendship. Maybe he needed to be there for himself as much as for Danny during the following weeks where every tiny move left his partner a sweaty, exhausted mess as he got his strength back. Unable to manage the simplest of things, Danny stayed a few additional days at the local hospital and then was released into his friend's care. After so many frightening months, that care bordered on the obsessive.

If on the rare occasions when it was not Steve, then Kono or Chin were lingering, hovering or just within ear shot whether he be at his own apartment or visiting one of their homes. Steve insisted or found a way to manipulate days at his own beachside house whenever possible; often blaming it on an easy way to entertain Grace with so much to do within feet of the lanai. If it bothered Danny, no one knew since he never uttered a single word of complaint. Danny readily accepted that it was for many reasons so frankly, did it even matter why any of them did what they needed to do? He took Steve's unwavering presence all in stride at first because he needed the help and after, because then he understood that it not only benefited Steve but as it was pointed out so very often, even Grace. Then even when he was cleared to return to full-time work, Danny often had the luxury of a car-pooling partner at the smallest or most vague of excuses.

That morning, they were all going to meet at a crime scene in the basement of an apartment building quite near where Danny lived. It would afford Kono the fastest route to swing by and pick him up herself; after which, she could simply take him back for his own car or to the office. This particular excuse was a true stretch and Danny had been highly amused by her early morning phone call. But she was already halfway there and once again, the decision seemed to be smoothly made for him.

He knew the real reason however and Kono didn't let him down. Peka was soon to be released from the correctional center after a six-month period, and she had picked up on his mental ramblings as the day of the woman's release got closer. Kono was stunned by what he told her though and at first, she didn't know what to say as she thumped her coffee mug down.

"You haven't mentioned wanting to see her in the last few months. Not once. Ever." Kono was clearly unhappy as she lounged against the kitchen counter. It was no secret that Danny spoke to the warden on occasion, but he had shown no further intention of seeing Peka in person. His news now was unsettling at best and Kono practically glared at him. "I knew you had something up your sleeve. But this? I don't know, Danny."

The window was opened behind her and every so often, Danny would look past her shoulder at the curtain which was blowing in the soft breeze. He had to force himself not to glance uneasily at the front door which was a private surprise even to himself. Getting himself back on track, he poured himself a cup of coffee in an intentionally selected plain white restaurant-style mug.

"It's time and my choice. I need to see her and maybe even take her all the way back so I can talk to a few people." Wanting to see Peka after she'd done her court-mandated time, Danny was even considering escorting her to Nihau. His interest included a desire to see Trudy, as well as little Aaron. He thought he needed the closure to fully move on. However, Kono distinctly disapproved based on her instant reaction.

"You want to do what? To Nihau! Are you out of your mind?" Kono rocked off the counter as the words were left hanging between them. "Steve is going to blow a gasket! He won't like that you even want to see her let alone travel all the way back to that place!"

What both men continued to disagree on had been Peka's future which had quickly become a bone of contention between the two even if that future was somewhat out of their hands. Danny's attempts at intervening did yield some leniency in her case, which wasn't enough for him and yet not nearly enough for Steve. In fact, Steve vehemently felt that Peka was escaping the real consequences of her actions.

However, Danny's compassionate statement was considered in Peka's overall sentencing. The judge had remanded her to a medium-security women's correctional center where she would not only attend educational classes, but grief-counseling since it was deemed that her husband's death might have been a major catalyst.

Steve considered the whole situation much too charitable and nearly a debacle of justice. In the end, only Chin got them to agree on their base need to disagree in order to keep the peace over any discussions that might focus on the young woman or her baby. But now, time was up and Peka was being released under her own recognizance and the constraints of a final probationary time period; and Danny wanted to see her for himself.

"Oh, Danny. I don't know about this." Kono grimaced unhappily as he finished getting his gear together for the day's work. His raised eyebrows and quirky grin showed that he well knew what would happen. He was evidently ready to take Steve on in all his over-bearing, angry glory. She anticipated the fireworks to come and sighed dramatically as they left the apartment together.

"This isn't going to be pretty, brah."

**H5O* H5O* H5O* H5O* H5O***

Danny told Steve his plans later that afternoon in the Five-0 offices. Nearly wincing out loud as Danny sauntered into Steve's personal space and shut the door, she quickly filled Chin in on the situation. His stunned expression mirrored his cousin's from that very morning.

"What's going on?" Immediately leery of Danny's too coy demeanor and the fact the door was now closed, Steve was on guard with his partner.

"Peka is being released the day after tomorrow. She's getting out this Wednesday." It was as far as he got, and Danny had to hand it to Kono that Steve's reaction would be astronomical at the mere mention of the woman's name.

"No. I don't want you seeing her ... at all. She can take a cab to the airport." Even for his obvious dislike, the bluntness of the delivery wasn't entirely anticipated. Danny squinted oddly at Steve because he hadn't even gotten to the good part yet of taking her to Nihau. Only assuming that Danny might want to pick her up at the facility for a friendly ride to catch her flight, Steve was already extremely angry.

"She's not going to do anything, Steve." The not so patient tone was riddled with disgust. "It's time that I saw her and made sure she was okay. For myself."

"No need. Her family will be waiting for her." The remark was pointed and meant to end the conversation, but Danny was far from done.

"I'm going with her to Nihau. I'd like to see..." He was on the verge of explaining his plan in more detail about her cousin and the baby, but Steve was seething in anger. He could barely get the words out as his instincts twisted at the concept of Danny leaving Oahu for the other smaller island.

"Absolutely not! I won't have it." The cousins winced in unison as Steve's shout echoed from behind the closed glass door. "Danny, what is wrong with you?"

"I'll think about you every minute." With his own temper rising as well, Danny clenched the edge of Steve's desk. His sarcastically drawled comment caused Steve to quite literally rear back in a new level of fury. Danny was throwing his own words at him from a different fateful trip that he had once taken without any of their input. To add to the insult, Danny felt his own anger bubbling even more as he lobbed even a few added choice words back.

"Isn't that what you said? Did what I - or, what any of us - want matter to you when you went back to Korea?" Glaring at his partner, Danny refused to back down. "No, not so much. Am I right?"

"And tell me, Danny, how did that turn out exactly?" Hissing now and admitting his own folly, Steve leaned forward meaningfully on his large desk to put them nearly nose to nose. It was the only thing separating them as Steve's knuckles turned white. "If you have to do something, fine .. take her to our airport and good riddance, but keep your distance."

"What is your problem?" Not willing to relinquish his ground, Danny honestly wanted to know. He didn't understand the rising feeling of tension and true hate that was no longer stifled. Steve's eyes were dark with not only anger, but a measure of possible fear.

"I mean seriously, you dislike Peka that much?"

With a firm set to his jaw, Steve stood up, backed away, and folded his arms to hide the angry trembling of his fingers. He looked across at Danny finally relieved to have him back at work and much more himself. He was undeniably healthier, happier and simply put ... home. Because of the man standing directly in front of him, Steve nodded to compound Danny's question as he tried to make him understand.

"I do dislike her. Very much, in fact." He admitted with a quiet venom. "I don't want you to go anywhere near her because it serves no purpose whatsoever. She's dangerous, Danny. I don't care what you or the court has to say. The woman is _off_ and I don't get why you don't see it. If you won't stay away from her for me, then do it for Grace."

"What are you talking about? I'm not asking for a relationship with her!" Stunned to his feet, Danny nearly swiped a stack of papers off the desk and to the floor. "And by the way ... Grace! Grace has nothing to do with any of this!"

Their argument was in full swing and Kono needed to prevent Chin from trying to intervene. The final fight had to happen and it was now or never. Plus as she whispered to him, Steve was finally getting all of their concerns out on the table. Discussing Grace would be the last piece of the long, emotional puzzle and that also needed to be articulated. From the smart table, the cousins watched as Steve adopted a very sarcastic stance of his own. But his voice dropped considerably and they were unable to hear what he had to say.

"For a such a highly aware, involved and good father, I fail to see how you could possibly think Grace would approve of you going back to Nihau. Or, do you plan to do this on the sly and not tell her?"

Danny blinked at Steve in confusion because he still failed to see some of the connection. He had no intention of keeping this a secret or otherwise. He had assumed his need to finally close the door on Peka wouldn't entirely be a problem for anyone. Heaving a sigh that was fraught with worry, Steve spelled each syllable out and was clear that besides Grace, they all felt precisely the same way. They had all lived through four agonizing, sickly unpleasant months with broken leads, intentional lies, and then what had seemed like a true inconceivable loss due to a partially failed mission.

Firmly pushing down his emotions, Steve calmed himself considerably to finish what he needed. The change was also telling to Danny as he heaved in a deep breath himself, and forced himself to take a full step back from the desk. "Grace is still afraid for you. She's afraid of that woman and that island. She will have zero understanding of why you think you need to go back there." Lowering his voice even more, Steve made a face because he was still upset and at a loss of how to express himself.

"I know Peka says that she didn't really know what she was taking the money for; but I don't entirely believe her. I never will. Her story about meeting up with Colton's men for a fast buck is ludicrous or then being fearful for her family's safety and eventually even for yours. No, I can't trust her, Danno. I just can't do it." Danny glowered unhappily because mixed in with a true concern for Grace, was the now open sentiments of his whole team.

"I don't know why you feel that you have to even utter her name." Steve was much less forgiving of the Hawaiian woman, by far. As he ran out of words and silence over-took the office, the two could only briefly stare at each other. One pleading the other to rethink his most recent and very disturbing idea.

Silently, Danny simply turned and left Steve's office for his own. He had more to think about than he originally ever had considered. He stayed in his office for the rest of the afternoon, only poking his head up when Steve announced he would be driving him home. On tender hooks, the topics of Peka and visiting Nihau were cleanly avoided and tabled for a later discussion.

Steve sat in the parking lot for a few minutes after Danny entered his apartment. Not invited in, it was obvious that Danny needed even more time to think and brood. Steve's not so kindly shared opinions had sounded harsh even to his own ears, but he felt it all had to be said; especially the point about Grace and what stresses she might feel knowing that her father had gone back there. Steve felt strongly that her reaction wouldn't differ in the slightest bit if Danny told her either before he went or upon his return.

He tapped the steering wheel impatiently as he considered Grace. His hand strayed to the ignition and he almost turned off the engine to have another long talk with Danny. With a rough sigh, he shook his head in disgust and decided against it. In the end, Steve would deal with whatever his partner decided. However, he most assuredly wouldn't be doing whatever that might wind up being, alone. With a wry smirk, Steve calmed his temper with that thought before pulling out of the parking lot for his own home.

From the sanctity of his kitchen window, Danny watched Steve's truck as it sat idling entirely expecting to see the driver's side door open and his partner come striding out for another argumentative recap. He stayed there and waited until the truck finally pulled away and disappeared down the road.

"Fine." Relieved to be alone, Danny roughly pulled out the chair from the kitchen table. The surprising intensity of this latest argument wasn't what he wanted and in fact, a big part of him thought that they were all over-reacting. He hadn't kept it a secret that he often wondered about Trudy and how she was managing raising Aaron while his mother was away. Something inside himself had prevented him doing more than contacting the warden at the Center. Danny had let that curiosity linger and now with Peka being released, he felt an urge to know more.

Regardless of his dislikes, Steve was right in that six months was a long time. Now pushed, Danny really didn't exactly know what he wanted or better yet, what was he feeling towards Peka, Trudy and Aaron. If not love, then only an affection but did he need to physically see them? Hashing and re-hashing his original plans against Steve's confrontational argument, Danny pushed himself away from the table.

"Fine." The repeated sigh continued to hold a note of annoyance. One thing was for certain: he could not afford to have a talk with Grace about Peka, Trudy, Aaron or visiting Nihau. That one truth as so bluntly shared by his astute partner was absolute. Because of that one truth, Danny did have to wonder then what he thought he might need to resolve. Grumbling to himself, he vowed to come up with a compromise that would work and make more sense.

**H5O* H5O* H5O* H5O* H5O***

The following morning, Steve found Danny at the office much earlier than anyone else. He looked a bit weary and ruffled around the edges making Steve frown in despair about the day's prior overly involved discussion. Worried about what might come, Steve sat on the edge of the desk and mindlessly pushed a pen around.

"Listen, Danny." He started and then was interrupted as Danny got to his feet.

"No, you listen. You're right." Stunned by the first words and finality of the tone, Steve waited for the rest of it. He was worried but Danny seemed more upset with himself. "I don't have to go to Nihau, or even see Peka for that matter."

Completely unable to hide his small smile, Steve had to grin which made Danny purse his lips. "But ... I want to see her."

Steve's face fell slightly before recovering to share his quick ultimatum. It was something he had rehearsed for half the night. "Okay. But Danny ... not alone. I'm going with you whether you like it or not."

It was Danny's turn to smile because he'd finally come to accept his partner's deeply ingrained distrust for his Hawaiian friend and her small family. But then again, that wasn't entirely the case since Steve was wholly focused on Peka. He nodded to agree and saw the rising tension dissipate as quickly as it appeared. "I'd be happy seeing her at the Center tomorrow right as she leaves for Nihau. Just to make sure she's okay and to satisfy my curiosity. I'd like to ask about Trudy and the baby."

The heaved relief of the second sigh was unmistakable and Danny had to grin widely. "Thank you. I need to do .. something .. this will work."

"Are you sure?" Steve surprised himself but he meant it. Relieved twice over when Danny felt it would be enough. "Alright .. it's a good idea, Danny. You could always do more later if you wanted to follow-up or talk to her."

That next afternoon, Steve and Danny sat quietly together as two or three women were released from the Center. Two cars and a taxi sat idling more closely and nearer the curb to the sidewalk. Parked across the way in the lot, Danny had his hand poised on the handle to the door. He was about to get out and approach Peka when he saw her wave wildly to someone in the idling taxi.

"Who's that?" Steve frowned and squinted as he tried to see through the glass in the sun. But the passenger in the back was momentarily hidden from view. When the heavy-set woman struggled out, he heard Danny's surprised intake of breath.

"Oh. It's Trudy .. her cousin." Sitting up taller next to Steve in the passenger seat, Danny watched as the heavy-set woman welcomed her cousin with a warm hug. Turning back into the taxi, she fumbled for something and Danny realized it was the baby who had been sitting in a car seat.

"Look who she brought." Steve murmured quietly with a smile in his partner's direction. "I guess that would be Aaron?"

Danny nodded before sinking more contentedly back. The baby was kicking in his excitement to get to his mother and Peka was smiling happily as she hugged him away from Trudy. "Yeah, he's huge already ... practically a toddler."

"So? Are you going to sit here or say hello? It's a perfect opportunity." Uncertain as to why Danny had yet to move, Steve pushed gently against Danny's shoulder. But he only rocked back into place as his hand dropped from the door handle. Watching Peka nearly throw her son into the air with peals of laughter, he suddenly wasn't moved to make his presence known.

"No." He breathed out quietly. Steve suspiciously eyed the Hawaiian woman out of habit for he couldn't forgive her entirely. Her cousin had made the trip to retrieve her and had brought her son. He could sense that Danny's appearance could be awkward or at least, somewhat uncomfortable. He watched as Peka quickly surveyed the parking lot as if looking for someone or something, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw Danny frown. It was almost as if Peka did expect Danny .. her _Will_ .. to show up. And maybe that unto itself was the issue since Will didn't exactly exist the way she would have wanted.

Dutifully intending to follow them to the airport in case Danny changed his mind, Steve started the truck as soon as the taxi pulled away from the curb. But a touch on his arm stopped him as Danny shook his head because he possibly had reached the same conclusion after seeing the trio reunited.

"No. Don't." Content and at peace with what they just witnessed, Danny shrugged before grinning. It felt like enough had happened as the taxi disappeared from view. "You don't have to."

_**~ End ~**_


End file.
